Behind Trump’s Syria Turnabout

Trump came into office touting his “America First agenda,” disdaining NATO,
and asking “Why is it a bad thing to get along with Russia?” He told us he abjured
“regime change” and held up Libya as an example of bad policy. Now he’s turned
on a dime, bombing Syria, and welcoming tiny (and troubled) Montenegro into
NATO. His intelligence agencies are even accusing
Russia of having advance knowledge of the alleged chemical attack in Syria
(although the White House disputed
that after it got out). And all this in the first one hundred days!

How did this happen? It’s easy to explain, once you understand that there is
no such thing as foreign policy: all policy is domestic.

That’s the core principle at the heart of what
I call “libertarian realism,” the overarching theory – if such a grandiose
term can be applied to what is simply common sense – that explains what is happening
on the world stage at any particular moment. And there is no better confirmation
of this principle than the recent statement
by Eric Trump, the President’s son, who said: “If there was anything that Syria
[strike] did, it was to validate the fact that there is no Russia tie.”

Oh yes, and Ivanka was “heartbroken” – and so it was incumbent upon the President
to change course, break a major campaign promise, and declare via his Secretary
of State that “Assad
must go.”

Got it.

Trump’s Syrian turnabout is clearly a response to the coordinated attack launched
on his presidency by the combined efforts of the Deep State, the media, the
Democrats, and the McCain-Graham-neocon wing of the GOP – a campaign that still
might destroy him, despite his capitulation to the War Party.

Vladimir Putin has likened
the current Syria imbroglio to what happened in Iraq, with claims of “weapons
of mass destruction” and a war fought on the basis of false intelligence, but
there is one major difference: this time, the bombing came first, with the “evidence”
an afterthought. You’ll recall that in the run up to the invasion of Iraq there
was an extended and quite elaborate propaganda campaign designed to make the
case for war. Now, however, that process has been reversed: bombing first, “evidence”
later.

Speaking of which, Bloomberg national security reporter Eli Lake tells
us that the US is about to release a “dossier” explaining the rationale
for the Syria strike: it is “short on specific intelligence” but long on “its
refutation of Russian disinformation.” As in the case of the “Russian interference
in the election” narrative, we’ll doubtless be told that protecting “sources
and methods” precludes us peons from seeing the actual “intelligence.” Ours
is not to question why, ours is but to do and die, as the old saw goes: but
is that – not to mention the moral imperative of safeguarding Ivanka’s fragile
emotional state – really enough to justify a 180-degree shift in US foreign
policy?

The real significance of this “dossier” has little to do with justifying the
Syria strike insofar as actual evidence of Assad’s alleged crime is concerned,
and more with signaling to the heretofore hostile “intelligence community’ and
political actors in the US that the days of President Trump trying to achieve
détente with Russia are over. As Lake points out:

“But it is really the report’s condemnation of the Russian response that
is most striking. Trump has sought to reset the relationship with Moscow, as
President Barack Obama hoped to do in 2009 and 2010. Now, one U.S. official
tells me, Russian officials in phone calls with their Trump administration counterparts
repeated in private the same propaganda lines their government was issuing in
public. ‘That has led to a lot of frustration at the highest levels of the government,’
this official said.“

Translation: Forget getting along with Russia – just call off your bloodhounds.

We now have Putin warning
that more “provocations” are in store, with some pretty specific details supplied.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least, but we’ll have to wait and see if that
pans out. In the meantime, however, three factors are percolating in the mix:
1) Our spooks, not content with having turned the Trump administration around
on Syria policy, won’t let up on the alleged “Russian foreknowledge” angle.
These guys mean business. 2) The previously stalled effort to overthrow Assad
by funding and arming the Islamist savages championed by McCain, Graham, &
Co. will recommence, with some success, and 3) The campaign to smear Trump as
a Kremlin tool will continue, unabated, with both the House and Senate investigations
barreling full speed ahead, with plenty of help from the “former intelligence
officials.” They aren’t about to let Trump off the hook quite so easily.

What all this shows is how far removed the making of US foreign policy is from
actual facts on the ground, and the rational calculation of American interests.
What it all comes back to is how it serves the political interests of those
in power – and those who aspire after power. Facts have nothing to do with it
except insofar as they can be manipulated – or created – so as to fit a preexisting
agenda.

There are very few good arguments for striking out at the Syrian government.
One of the pseudo-credible ones is that the use of sarin and other similar weapons,
if allowed to go unpunished, would hurt our legitimate interests, since their
use would then become pandemic. The riposte is that anyone who would even consider
using such weapons is not likely to be deterred by US retaliation, no matter
how swift.

In any case, this raises the question: did Bashar al-Assad drop sarin gas on
a bunch of civilians at Idlib? Despite the rush to judgment, we don’t know the
answer to that question, but several factors make it unlikely. He was winning
the civil war, and this, if you’ll pardon the expression, seems like overkill.
Furthermore, for
years the Syrian rebels have been doing their damnedest to frame Assad for
just such a heinous crime in order to provoke US intervention on their behalf,
to little avail – until now. Their record speaks for itself.

If indeed Assad is guilty, then it’s conceivable – although I would disagree
– that one could make an argument for a one-off warning strike. Yet that is
not what we’re seeing at all: already, Secretary of State Tillerson is echoing
that old Obama-Clinton slogan, “Assad must go.” This isn’t a one-off: it’s a
complete reversal of what candidate Trump said he’d do once in office.

As I said in my
last column, the silver lining is that many of Trump’s prominent supporters
– and former supporters – are waking up to the importance of non-interventionism
as one of the pillars of “Trumpism.” Their former hero’s betrayal is putting
them on a learning curve – and the best of them will come out the other side
with a new awareness of what “America First” really means.

On the other hand, we are going to have to live with the consequences of this
terrible turnabout – not all of which are readily apparent, and none of which
redound to the benefit of the United States and its citizens.

NOTES IN THE MARGIN

You can check out my Twitter feed by going here. But please note that my tweets
are sometimes deliberately provocative, often made in jest, and largely consist
of me thinking out loud.

Author: Justin Raimondo

Justin Raimondo is the editorial director of Antiwar.com, and a senior fellow at the Randolph Bourne Institute. He is a contributing editor at The American Conservative, and writes a monthly column for Chronicles. He is the author of Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement [Center for Libertarian Studies, 1993; Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2000], and An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard [Prometheus Books, 2000].
View all posts by Justin Raimondo

Terrific piece. It really fills in the blanks for me…. But NOT how it came to pass that Trump could/would bring onboard such a Trojan Whorse like Tillerson….AND PUT HIM AT STATE,TOO, THE MOST IMPORTANT CABINET POSITION…. CONCERNING WAR & PEACE ….. How DID Tillerson get State.?? Brietbart knows I’m sure… I believe Tillerson is a liability and is sandbagging Prestdent Trump… We will have to wait to see how this Sarin story turns out before we start demanding he be FIRED… Luckily President Trump’s good at that, At least he has turned back from going totally Hillary…

Mork

Or, Trump has been playing everyone for a fool all along, which is a much simpler explanation. Or, as he would put it, “it’s a very, very simple explanation.”

Mary Myers

If Hillary hadn’t had a lock on the nomination in the Democrat Party, Trump would have been running as a Democrat.

MvGuy

Yes Mork, it seems quite clear that he is aan horrible scoundral. His “Get Along with Russia”… act fooled me. He fooled me once. Shame on HIM…. I won’t be letting him fool me again… It’ bad enough letting him fool me once…. I don’t need no shame from le letting him fool me again.

MvGuy

10:25 PM thursday April 13, 2017.

I hereby flip flop… After the above time, I hereby withdraw any good things that I have said regarding Donald Trump… I disavow any hope.. I may have had for this person to acthonorably as President or as a man or a person.. Clearly he is an untruthful unprincipled manipulator. Sad for him,

He is less of a Christian than my dog. AI feel sorry for him and his family… Living a lie is not much of a life. Hurting innocent people, sad especially hurting innocent children is reserved for the scum of the earth.

TellTheTruth-2

John F Kennedy begged the media to support his efforts to “drain the swamp” and he was assassinated instead. Today we have seen a ZioCON/Communist media take Trump down and, like Germany under Hitler, the USA is heading to a place the whole world will turn on us.

For Trump “America First” means American supremacy. He is no isolationist. Once he said “take the oil” and groveled before AIPAC it was obvious that he was going to be another pro-Zionist warmongering imperialist interventionist dedicated to Netanyahu’s agenda for making the Middle East safe for Zionism.

Foreign policy is not always domestic. In his own words last week Trump said “I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!” In other words, Trump is ready to sell out his promises to voters to bring jobs back from China in return for China becoming a US lapdog in East Asia.

Trump always was a phony wannabe Rambo who believes in achieving his goals through the ruthless use of force. He doesn’t care about the voters or his country any more than he cared about his business partners, employees or ex-wives over the years. But Trump doesn’t have the intellectual or emotional tools necessary to be an effective leader.

Trump was in over his head inside the Beltway. After Bannon’s policy initiatives became disasters he turned Syria policy over to his generals. What we are seeing now is a Syria policy made by the Pentagon. Trump has annointed Jared Kushner as heir apparent and the Pentagon is programming Kushner and preparing to work with him as the chief adviser to Trump and later as the 46th President. And that is fine with AIPAC because Kushner is a hard core pro-settlement Zionist.

Trump doesn’t have the intellectual capacity, emotional stability or self-discipline necessary to lead his administration. Unlike Trump, Kushner has been trained for leadership, masters details, listens to his advisers and has gained the respect of the military. He is personable and it doesn’t hurt that he is a heart throb. While Trump spends his time at the golf course, tweeting and bloviating Kushner is representing the President to the troops in Iraq and is slated to become the face and voice of the administration at the Congressional hearings. Look for Kushner to gain in visibility and influence and eventually run for president, perhaps In 2020.

I think Kushner and Ivanka are playing a major role in what’s going on in the White House but I think Ivanka is more likely to run for president. People like her. Even people who hate Trump seem to like her and she’s made herself much more of a spectacle in the media. Kushner strikes me as being more of a behind the scenes style power broker. 2020 might be a little soon but the fact that this power couple has managed to manipulate the American empire so easily at such a young age and with so little political experience is a sign of two things. 1.) The empire is unraveling into unparalleled chaos and 2.) these kids know exactly how to exploit it. Long story short, ladies and gentleman, meet the new Clintons. God help us.

Illegal

Ivanka and Jared are liberal Democrats. Ivanka is friends with Chelsea and others. Ivanka’s resource connection in the WH is Deana Powell a Bush WH alumni and possible neocon. Deana’s former husband is linked with the Clinton Foundation and Huma. Ivanka and Jared need to be thrown out asap.

The Trump Crime Family is no better than the Bush and Clinton crime families. The USA is royally shafted.

richardvajs

Longlance,
You forgot the Obama Crime Family. Granted Obama probably knew better and probably wanted to do better, but the man had the courage of a hamster, and so it was: “Yes Sir, Yes Sir, Three bags full, Sir”. (He will try to assuage his conscience on the golf links of Hawaii.)
It has been at least 18 straight years of rule by crooked Wall Street, the uber-greedy Big Pharmacy boys, insurance interests and the apartheid state of Israel. Yes, it does smell like our goose is cooked – not yummy though – more like burnt, rancid grease.

JP McEvoy

Impeach.

sambor71

Sure. But I thought the same about the last 4 POTUS. And a bunch more were candidates for impeachment. Fact is the US republic ended a long time ago.

JP McEvoy

Impeachment is what Im saying. What my thoughts are is whole lot darker.

TheManInTheBunker

Justin, you over estimate the pacifist/non-interventionist Trump base. Immediately after the bombs were dropped I heard many voice of those I know that supported Trump, the Deplorable Class, whooping it up that we now had a REAL president instead of that wimp Obama; that ‘Murica’s Military was back on “top”(insert whatever imagery you like with that one).

Bianca

You are not informed. Read web sites that are folliwed by over 20 milopn Trump supporters. They are aware of the Ziocon empire building, and are aware of the fact that we are witnessing soft coup. His entire business will be destroyed, complying with the demands of real rulers, or not. They are turning on the neocon controlers in the atkonal Security Council, intelligence and military. They know who the owners of CIA are. The best intellectual, desearch and investigative power now resides among Trump supporters — the left and majority of ostensible “antiwar” have become feeble and unable to grasp the brutal reality of our power struggle. The establishment media is portraying such truth-seeking as “turning against Trump”, to mask the fact that Trump supporters understand more then anybody else how Ziocons operate. While left remains willingly blind to the soft palace coup. But it is early days. Trump may find his leggs, and the restructuring of State will yield results. The tentacles State-CIA need to be severed. But raising the stakes all around is bringing us closer to nuclear war. Ziocons are notorious gamblers, as they expect all reasonable and responsible people to back off in the face of insanity. Thus, they win. But not this time. Their hatred of Russia blinds them. Their globalist adventures almost destroyed Russia several times in its history, but as it came back out of ashes — the blinding hatred is calling for scorched earth approach to Russia. As Russia is determined never to fight a war on its territory, the only way out of this blind hate spiral — is nuclear war. Russia has put premium on its decences, multi-layer preparedness that includes sharing of defences with China, we should be asking REAL questions of McCaine and company — are American people protected in a case of nuclear attack? The answer is simple — there is no protection. The “missile shield” is an offensive schema relying on being able to intercept early Russian nuclear attack — after preemptively destroying Russian nuclear arsenal. All of our nuclear policy is based on ziocon blind hate — hit them first from short distance — and their remaining offensive capability will be minimal. But what if such plan ackfires? Russia has enourmous territory, and is not exactly open about its capabilities. Their lower orbit nuclear gliders cannot be intercepted by nuclear shield. If ziocons continue with super agressive policy — no sweet talking will catch Russia unprepared. So, if we allow Ziocons to ignore the safety of American citizens, just as we allowed them to keep destroying our economic wellbeing — it is OUR fault, not anybody’s else. Much stronger grass roots exists now on the right, as the left is completely destroyed on popular level. The intellectualizing alone is impotent.

boxofvapor

I wouldn’t say that he (themaninthebunker) is completely wrong. I have also seen quite a few Trump fans celebrating this attack. But mostly that’s from guys that I “served” with back in the day. Pro-military people are always cheer-leading the use of the military and never more so then when it’s a Republican doing the bombing. Keep in mind that these same people would have supported any attack and actually preferred other Republicans over Trump anyway. These guys reluctantly supported Trump because the only alternative was Hillary, who they hate. So it really does depend on what sites you are going on and what people you are around.

Personally I’m disgusted by this action, but I know that there are actually more people willing to speak out against it now, then there would have been if Hillary had won. I also think that Hillary would have taken it well beyond this rather small strike.

As for the people calling to impeach Trump or somehow acting as if Hillary would have been better, they are nuts. Impeach Trump and you get Pence and there would be zero chance of any form of peace with either Pence or Hillary. With Trump there is still a chance that he will work towards a political solution and possibly use this as cover to try once again for better relations with Russia. The chance might be slim indeed, but it’s still a better chance than with Pence or Hillary.

I was with you until the last paragraph. While I agree that both Pence and Hillary are way worse, Trump was always going to be a war president. Just look at the massacre he green-lit on his first week in Yemen. Russia was always the big question mark. I don’t have much faith in Trump in this regard either but I have learned to never underestimate Putin’s ability to manipulate his foes and if this week has proven anything it’s that Trump is very manipulable.

I also think that Trump should be impeached regardless of his replacement in order to set a moral precedent. Pence is gonna be in the White House either way. I realize this is a pipe dream but I supported Dennis Kucinich’s principled attempt to impeach Bush and I would be more than happy to see a like minded soul do the same with Trump.

Bianca

I fully agree. Trump has been very consistent in his foreign policy strategy. MSM jumped on it from day one — and outright lied. They ridiculed it — making sure most prople never read it, and never allowed any debate on its premisses — during the entire campaign. Those who know just how many times Trump laid out the principles of his foreign policy strategy — realize just how much trouble we are in. The vast following of antiwar.com is not giving up — and this is encouraging. Indeed, there are many Republican voters that have missed the key point — America greatness cannot be achieved by magic — but by grasping the disasterous consequences of globalism.

The pressure on Trump has come from all corners — and now even the thickest of flag waving reflexive bombing cheerleaders must have grasped — the President is not allowed to implement his foreign policy agenda. Even though this is his constitutional responsibility. But everybody — from press to congressmen, senators and think tanks feel empowered to push down our throats their downright stupid policies. But these are early days — the globalizing media, politicians and both parties have written Trump off many times before. The catastrophy for the elite of both parties was Hillary Clinton loss. The globalist queen did not get the throne — but the now Trump has to pay the price by enduring their joint angry volubility.

But the deep state has not been elected by us — and the best wat to support Trump is to uphold his principles, and reject the deep state the right to impose its will on Trump’s inner circle, and dictate the decisions. The best way to show support is to let the manipulators know — we are aware, and will not go away.
So far, Infowars has been the best at attacking deep state. Hope they keep it up.

Those reflexive Republicans voting for dinosaurs like McCain, are not aware that neocons have not spent a dime on their defense in case of nuclear war. It would be wise to find out just who is — and who is not protected. Flyover country should know the answer. Russia has put premium into defense, and has made a decision to never again allow wars to be fought on its territory. The gamblers in our foreign policy establishment have not given a single thought to the nuclear defense of population. They have gambled on “missile defence”, a system that is supposed to allow the first strike capability and the ability to intercept the presumably weak retaliatory strike. But the actual protection of population is not part of the plan. Their strategy is offensive not defensive. But in the light of growing Russian and Chinese defensive capabilities — the strategy cannot guarantee sucess. The STUPID, but only way out of this mess is to try to create a sitiation to expose Russia’s weaknesses — sooner rather then later. But it is a move borne out of a loss of direction, and not having time nor political room for a manuever. If the US policy sounds irrational — it is because it is.
Trump — not being part and parcel of the failing defence policy — has a chance to recalibrate global relations. But it would be the death of many careers. For neocons, it is all about buying time. Just a bit longer of the make believe world — before a mercifull end is put on this technoligjcally failing nuclear security.

Yes, he has been very consistent about doing a 180 and laughing at his gullible followers every five minutes since he began his presidential campaign. You can almost set your watch by it.

MvGuy

Frightening analysis Bianca… One thing is sure. We have reaped what we have allowed to be sown… Bianca is right not only now… but again and again and again… So O.K. we have been had.. What now…..?????

Skywalker

It is not clear yet how the attack on Syria and the attempt to bully Russia and China will play with the majority of Trump voters. But what is clear is that the MIC and the Zionist lobby now control the White House as well as Congress and the Pentagon. The future of the antiwar movement will be in the streets, on the campuses and in our communities. The good news is that there were large demonstrations against the attack on Syria in cities throughout the nation and the BDS movement is gaining steam.

Wags

The protests in my town were ran by a Marxist woman who still supports Obama. The protests are coming from the Left, which means they are co-opted and controlled. Not boding well.

Trump in many ways ran multiple campaigns simultaneously in a similar way to Obama in 2008. People heard what they wanted to hear and tuned everything else out. Thus there are different kinds of Trump supporters. There are the types you mentioned above who chose to here Trump singing gleefully about ‘bombing the shit’ out of people. Then there are the types who are sick and tired of all the globalist bullsh*t of phony free trade and endless regime change. This last group are the ones who handed Trump the White House. The salty Rust-belt factory workers who I grew up with and are simply fed up with getting screwed. Many of these people voted for both Obama and Trump and are finally coming to the harsh conclusion that Washington itself is the problem. These are the people worth fighting for. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

mdb

Or maybe they should simply go back to school and learn new skills. You know…individual responsibility and self-determination “without” government “assistance”. Capitalism is screwing them more than the government is. Coal is going the way of the dinosaurs because it has become too expensive in comparison to cheap natural gas and other renewables. What’s the long term fix for that one? Put all those fracking outfits out of business (along with the jobs), shut down solar, wind and other alternative jobs? Nope…the Rust Belt has an acute education problem if you ask me.

No one did ask you. School costs money and we’re already in debt. Maybe elitist shit-heads like you can just pull money from the trees but working people have to struggle just to feed their kids. A big problem with people like you is you never step outside your little bubble and see how the rest of the country lives. These people have made the mistake of trusting the wrong people but who would you rather chastise, the scam artists or their victims. I prefer to side with the aggrieved and teach them how to fight back against both big business and big government rather than just turn my nose up at them like some posh little suburban twat.

mdb

And the fetid pejoratives flow. Big government ain’t the reason why coal and manufacturing are failing. Natural gas is simpler cheaper, like imports from China, which help american consumers get the most for everything they make (so much for “phony free trade”).

There ain’t no frigging money tree in my back yard, and I have substantial student-loan debt to show for it…but very manageable debt via income-based repayment…an investment not in government but in myself. IOW, I don’t put my future in the hands of mealy-mouthed politicians promising things they can’t possibly deliver…especially republicans, who were instrumental in promoting globalization of the free market…the very thing they are suddenly supposed to abrogate full stop. They have conned a lot of Rust Belt voters into believing that they have.

Education, not government is the fix to what ails the Rust Belt. Coal is in decline and manufacturing will likely never reach 25% of the national workforce again. Manufacturing currently represents just 12-13% of all workers nationally and yet this is all we hear every four years…the plight of the Rust Belt. What about the plight of the other 88% or so? Bottom line is that without a college degree you are MUCH more likely to have trouble maintaining employment, let alone sufficient, long-term employment.

Politicians need to stop lying to Rust Belt voters and those voters need to stop believing said politicians who promise to wave a magic wand that pushes coal and manufacturing back to overflowing. Bernie Sanders also rails about the Rust Belt, but considering his staunch concern for climate change, is scarcely in the position to deliver on a coal renaissance. IOW, he can’t be trusted any more than any other politician, and he is one that is more trustworthy than most…except on matters of free trade and manufacturing, where he, like Trump, have indulged in half-truths to get votes.

My position is that you can wait on a “populist” promise from a lying, grievance-monger like Trump, or you can take matters into your own hands. You will be much better off with the latter than the former.

I think you have misunderstood my position. I am very anti-Trump and anti-coal. Neither one has done this part of the country or any other any good. But you get nowhere by spitting on people who have less than you and this country’s corrupt college-debt-complex is not the answer. The only thing its done is create a managerial class who often never get out of debt and do little more than move money from one place to another while the free market financial system this new lupenproletariat relies on crumbles into dust. If people are divorced from the modes of production they become isolated victims of an economic never-neverland that was built to expand until it falls beneath its own weight. People need to make things. People need be connected to their communities. They need to serve them just as much if not more than those societies need to serve those individuals. Manufacturing is never dead. It just evolves with the times. I’m an anarcho-syndicalist. The only thing I support outsourcing is unions. Real , radical unions like the kind this country use to have before FDR assimilated them into the capitalist system. As for what the Rust-belt should manufacture: my vote goes to opium and marijuana. The empty factories are perfect for hydroponics and the Great Lakes are a perfect water source. We could blow Central Asia and the Golden Triangle out of the f**king water and use the profits to fund a return of the small business merchant class in this country.

My guess is the Trump voters who are against this new neocon direction have an average IQ a standard deviation higher than the ones excited about bombing and war.

Thomas Carlson

Trying to figure out “Trump’s Syria Turnabout” without mentioning Israel is like trying to determine the motion of the planets without accounting for the fact that they all go around the Sun. Yes, I know that fully a quarter of Americans think the Sun goes around the Earth and won’t be talked out of it, but objective reality is what really calls the shots in this universe, folks, and what’s best for Israel determines foreign policy in the USA. If you think otherwise, just go back to watching TV and don’t even TRY to make sense of the Gulf of Tonkin like incident that recently took place in Syria.

propagandareal

You are sooo.. correct in surmising that “what’s best for Israel determines foreign policy in the USA.”

eric

All lies used to destroy Yugoslavia Iraq , Libya why not use them on Syria too .Is Trump going be anther NWO man ? Now hev get praise from the fake news .

Thomas Carlson

I’m thinking Trump is willing to play along with whatever the NWO folks have in mind for the planet Earth, and it ain’t gonna be pretty for the human race.

You are such a catty bitch sometimes and I love it. I can just see Justin clicking on that link and going “That BITCH!”. You guys are the Joan Crawford and Bette Davis of anti-interventionism.

Nater

Carter Page was the Trump adviser targeted by the FBI with a FISA warrant in July over his Russia ties. I think the FBI is now closing in on Trump’s former relationship with Russia. In order to “prove” that Trump didn’t collude with Russia, Trump is now desperately wagging the Syrian dog.

“Trump’s just doing this stuff to distract from the stuff we found out with the wiretaps that we didn’t do …”

Nater

Trump said he was wiretapped in the Trump Tower by Obama. The implication was that Obama was trying to get something on Trump for political advantage. This is categorically untrue. If you can’t see the difference between Trump’s lying tweet and the generally rightward leaning FBI obtaining a FISA warrant to monitor Carter Page, who they believed “knowingly engaged in clandestine intelligence activities on behalf of Moscow,” I don’t know what else to tell you. Maybe pull your head out of your ass.

Jeffrey Fein

“This is categorically untrue.”

You believe it. We get that. But the fact that you believe it doesn’t make it evidence. Show us some evidence.

Yeah, I thought so.

Nater

Hey, dork, the onus is not on me to prove a negative (that Obama didn’t wiretap Trump Tower). The onus is on Trump and his legions of Trumptards to provide evidence for his claim that Obama did wiretap him. That said, logic shows us that “In some circumstances it can be safely assumed that if a certain event had occurred, evidence of it could be discovered by qualified investigators. In such circumstances it is perfectly reasonable to take the absence of proof of its occurrence as positive proof of its non-occurrence.” Trump would have access to any evidence implicating Obama. Since none has been forthcoming, we can safely assume that such proof doesn’t exist and that Obama did not, in fact, wiretap Trump Tower.

JMMorgan

It seems to have escaped Nater’s attention that “. . . EVERYONE, including the President, is surveilled . . . ” See: “The Surveillance State Behind Russia-gate” by Ray McGovern and Bill Binney at Consortium News.

More from the McGovern-Binney article:

“As those paying rudimentary attention to modern methods of surveillance know, “wiretapping” is passé. But Trump’s use of the word allowed FBI and Department of Justice officials and their counterparts at the National Security Agency to swear on a stack of bibles that the FBI, DOJ, and NSA have been unable to uncover any evidence within their particular institutions of such “wiretapping.”

“At the House Intelligence Committee hearing on March 20, FBI Director Comey and NSA Director Michael Rogers firmly denied that their agencies had wiretapped Trump Towers on the orders of President Obama.

“So, were Trump and his associates “wiretapped?” Of course not. Wiretapping went out of vogue decades ago, having been rendered obsolete by leaps in surveillance technology.

“The real question is: Were Trump and his associates surveilled? Wake up, America. Was no one paying attention to the disclosures from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013 when he exposed Director of National Intelligence James Clapper as a liar for denying that the NSA engaged in bulk collection of communications inside the United States.

“The reality is that EVERYONE, including the President, is surveilled. The technology enabling bulk collection would have made the late demented FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s mouth water.”

Nater

Is bulk data collection that is always and everywhere ongoing (to be looked at if the need arises) the same as “Obama wiretapped the Trump Tower?” for political advantage? Trumptarded minds want to know…

Rice and the FBI have both confessed publicly to wiretapping Trump’s campaign personnel.

I suppose I should treat their confessions with a certain degree of skepticism since they’re known to lie frequently and flagrantly, but such admissions against interest seem like an exception.

Nater

The FBI getting a FISA warrant to monitor Carter Page who they believe is a Russian agent and Susan Rice seeing who that person is, which would be a part of her job, is not the same thing as Obama wiretapping the Trump tower. You’re either being purposefully dense or you actually are that dumb.

Have you considered thorazine? It might reduce the mindstorms of trying to hold multiple conflicting ideas in your head at the same time.

Nater

It’s the sign of a first rate intelligence, so thanks for the compliment, but in this case the ideas aren’t contradictory.

federico

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the only way “[Assad] was winning” in Syria is if one equates Assad and the SAA with the foreign-backed, foreign-manned Shi’ite militias on the ground, without whose support the regime would have likely fallen by now. Unless you take this into consideration you’ll miss a key reasoning behind the use of chemical weapons. For a long time the weakened SAA has not been able to make any progress against either revolutionary or jihadist forces without participation from Iran or Russia.

There is, however, more to it than this, since the actual gains (i.e., inflicted [morale] losses) by the attack are minuscule compared to its expected (and now realised) geopolitical ramifications. Consider Iran and Syria’s role viz a viz Russia and the prospect of a warming of relations between Russia and the US. A provocative chemical weapons strike could not but have presented Trump with a carrot on the one hand (win points among hawks through a strike) and a stick (continuation of Russophobic Manchurian Candidate narrative, where Trump lets US lose out on Russian “red line” deal of 2012.

Now, Russia is one again closer to the Syrian-Iranian axis, and the prospect of Russia-US partnership in Syrian peace talks is postponed. Additionally, the US is further shown to have little in the sense of tangible foreign policy direction.

On a final note, Raimondo’s assertion that rebel groups launched the attack themselves is rather fanciful, despite (or even as evidenced by) his cherry-picked sources. If they have truly been working towards this for years, why now, and not sometime sooner, especially back when Obama was in charge and struggling to keep his hawks from pursuing regime change? Self-serving though it may be, I think there’s a more persuasive argument to be found in considering Damascus and Tehran’s motives behind an attack, than in thinking the rebel forces so incompetent as to not even ration their chemical weapons for better strategic use.

Nater

They tried the chemical weapons false flag in 2013 with Obama. He didn’t bite. New (much dumber) president, new false flag.

duglarri

He actually did bite, as I recall; wasn’t it the people of the United States rose up and overruled him?

Nater

No. The President can unilaterally fire off missiles at any country. Obama punted on the decision and made Congress decide once it became muddy who actually was behind the gas attack.

federico

Right. And don’t you think they could have embarrassed Obama, made him look weak, if they had launched another false flag after the Russia-brokered deal? Don’t you think such a move would have forced Obama’s hand, leading him to grant concessions to those members in his State Dept and IC who were even more hawkish?

But no. If I’m to follow your logic, the rebels patiently, intelligently waited all this time to try it on a different president — not even letting the loss of Aleppo (effectively: the loss of the war) get in the way of their cunning plan.

Fanciful thinking if you ask me.

wars r u.s.

How would you asses who is winning? If Assad is only able to win using outside help, he’s still winning. Just like the “rebels” losing even though they have equally as much outside help.

federico

I would sooner look up the composition of forces in recent major offensives, particularly Aleppo, where initial gains on the ground were not made by the SAA, but by Shi’ite fighters from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan (under, of course, Iranian command).

My point was to look at the geopolitical complexity of the Syrian war, because by doing so — that is, by eschewing simplistic straw men arguments to the effect that “if Assad is winning, why would he risk using wmd?” — we can better understand the underlying rationale behind the decision to use chemical weapons. To repeat what I wrote above: Assad’s manpower and political capital are very much depleted, such that we can understandably see Iran having much to gain in the recent attack on Idlib: it puts a Trump who is under fire under greater pressure, and it can consolidate Russia’s position within the Iranian-Syrian side.

wars r u.s.

I don’t think Russia would desert either Syria or Iran under any circumstance. Lessening the tensions between the US and Russia would therefore help Syria and Iran in my opinion.

federico

I agree with the spirit of your first point, but do not see how it implies the validity of the second one.

Russia and Iran have different endgames in sight in Syria. Iran is far more committed to Syria than Russia is, given the Saudi rivalry and the significant gains Tehran stands to gain from a possible overland access route to the Mediterranean. In this respect, Iran’s goals are more aligned with Assad’s: all of Syria should once again fall under Damascus’ control. Russia, meanwhile, has accomplished most of its goals: it has its bases and has secured the survival of a friendly regime. That being the case, Russia can now show more willingness in bringing the conflict to a negotiation phase, bringing the Americans in to join, perhaps, (which would bring added superpower prestige to a settlement). This in turn would dilute Iran’s influence, to the detriment of its goals. For the Iranian leadership, the warming of US-Russia relations was seen as a threat, as Russia’s friendship with Iran could be used as a bargaining chip for greater geopolitical prizes.

This, at least, is some of the reasoning behind my thinking of how Iran (and Assad) has come out a winner from the chemical weapons strike and the US reprisal that followed. Although the only casualties of the strike were civilians, the loss of face to Putin was such that he is once again closer to his Syrian and Iranian partners and further from Trump and Erdogan.

wars r u.s.

Giving up Iran to the wolves will turn out a lot worse than what is going on in Syria right now. War with Iran will dwarf that and that’s what we have to look forward to if Russia uses that bargaining chip.

federico

Yes, but don’t you agree that the U.S. policy towards Iran is anything but friendly? And, following that, can’t you imagine a U.S. leadership wishing to cool tensions with Russia will also try to extract something in the way of a concession regarding that country’s relations with Iran?

This, at least, is one of Iran’s concerns: increased isolation and a higher risk of being attacked. That is why I think they and their Syrian allies had good, rational reasons behind a chemical weapons strike; reasons that are lost if we simply say it would be an irrational action because “Assad is winning.”

Donna Volatile

This asshole (Trump) is going to take us all into WWIII. If he is too stupid to not know any better, he should not be President. If he’s been compromised, he did not deserve to be president in the first place.

The combat capabilities of Russia’s nuclear triad have increased, with 60 percent of modern weapons now in operation, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Wednesday. “The combat power of the nuclear triad has increased, it is now equipped with advanced weapons at 60 percent,” Shoigu told Rossiya 24 television. He said that 99 percent of Strategic Missile Forces launchers are on combat alert, 96 percent of which are “in constant readiness for immediate launch,” Sputnik reports.-RT

The neocon wing of the GOP has more members than McCain and Graham. Other than Rand Paul, I can’t think of many others. I hate to be “sectarian” here but I tire of this fantasy that we have an actual anti-war party. The bipartisan orgasm that occurred on the night of the Syrian attack is proof that none exists.

Empty Rosenberg

I never heard anyone, rational or otherwise, refer to an anti-war party in the US.

wars r u.s.

It seems Justin always talks about the neocon faction of the GOP as if it’s the minority. He also talks about the democrats as being the war party. I guess I assumed.

Jose Cuervo

WRT, promises made on the campaign trail, Americans seem to fall for the same lies over and over again. It reminds me of Lucy promising Charlie Brown that she will not pull the football out of the way this time. This has gone on since the beginning of the republic…Trump is no different than Wilson, FDR, Bush 2 or Obama in that respect. The real problem is that the state is just too powerful. The system has been subverted and most of us just whistle past the graveyard as we continue to believe the U.S. is a constitutional republic rather than an evil empire.

bob balkas

A large doze of American Jesus; American politics, hatred of, anger against disobedient nations; Saudi Allah, Jewish Yahveh, and a bit of murders [includes, reportedly, three or four butiful babies].

Am i mistaken in saying that for the first time ever in US history, US latest aggression [do i need to say that all aggressions are immoral and illegal] was [?joyfully] approved by mere 51% instead of the usual 98% of all voters?

So, Trump sent a message and Russia got it [be 100% sure], but did Americans get it? Seems some do get it!!!!!? And that scares the two dictatorial classes.
The message by Trump was primarily sent to disobedient Americans: Disobey me and refuse to work on my project of making America Great Again; and you’d get what afghanis, yemenis, libyans, iraqis, syrians, palestinians, cubans, others are getting.

Because one of my very truthful posts was deleted on antiwar ca. two months ago, i stopped reading and posting on that site. If it happens again, i’ll protest it again.

Frayed_Thread

#FireKushner
#PresidentKushner

PJ London

What makes you think that the decision was Trump’s?
Anyone who has run a business knows that 60% -90% of the decisions made are to agree with what is going to happen anyway.
Trump needed the support of the military to offset the CIA_Corporats and the Clinton-Bush-CNN mob.
He gave them $54bn, once he caved, he was gone.
I believe that it was more likely, “We are going to bomb them, get on board or be dumped.”?
If the US waits another 3 -4 years, they are going to be so far behind Russia and China militarily that they wil not catch up.
If Syria (Assad) wins, then US will have no believability with any nation large or small and will become another Britain. “Yeah yeah, whatever.”

Nater

You’re insane. Russia spends only something like $50 billion a year on their military. We beat that by at least a factor of 10. In fact, the U.S. spends more than every other country in the world COMBINED. We’re not falling behind anyone. Our capacity to kill has never been greater.

PJ London

Keep talking it up.
There is a big difference between killing innocent (or not so innocent) civilians and actually fighting a war. Your cops definitely kill more Americans than any one else.
The only war that you won was against Granada, and that only was because the 3 cops took the day off to go fishing.
Other than that, regardless of the fact that you spend 10x everyone else, you guys suck at war.
How are you doing in Afghanistan, or Iraq, how did you do in Vietnam and Korea?
Face it you really suck at war.
You want your unarmed F35 to go up against the Su35, it has real bullets, and air-to-air missiles that actually work. How about your B1, you know the one that is so stealthy that no one can see, unless you are some Serb with a missile and then Kaboom.
Guys give it up, when you can’t beat a bunch of high school dropouts armed only with AK47s (I bet you don’t even know why they beat the stuffing out of the AR15), the occasional RPG and a couple of mortars, you ought to realise that war-fighting is about people, not millions of dollars in the shareholders banks.
Jeez, your DoD even lost to civilians, lost 8 Trillion dollars in fact, you can’t even find who stole it, how the heck do you think that you can find an enemy.
Face it fella, you suck at war.

MikePM

The most laughable part: the very same folks telling us Assad just gassed his own people were assuring us not even a year ago that Assad didn’t have chemical weapons anymore thanks to Obama.

I think these people are completely winging it: just making it all up as they go along based on the political needs of the current 24 hour news cycle, and half of the idiot public will continue to just lap it all up.

axel

Assad didn’t have chemical weapons anymore thanks to … Russia.

Vish

“Speaking of which, Bloomberg national security reporter Eli Lake tells us that the US is about to release a “dossier” explaining the rationale for the Syria strike: it is “short on specific intelligence” but long on “its refutation of Russian disinformation.”

The Trump Regime needs to bring back Colin Powell to present this Syrian WMD dossier. Have the presentation at the United Nations so the entire world can see American intelligence (such as it is) on display.

Better yet, bring in Tony Bliar as a presenter as well, as he is an expert in presenting “dodgy dossiers” and “sexing-up” intel about Weapons of Mass Destruction.

What’s that old saying about history repeating itself as farce?

America is exemplifying this truism to the max.

Grab your popcorn, and enjoy the buffoonery!

unam_sanctum

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Justin Raimondo maintains the position that the Syrian Air Force launched sarin attacks as a real possibility. Why ? While bereaving the ineffectuality of a unified “antiwar” movement with political ability, he makes no mention of the fact that President Trump has brazenly violated his Constitutional Oath to a degree hithero unseen in American history. Raising the spectre of the Golf of Tonkin incident, he does not distinguish the differences between these historical events. A Congressional resolution was passed in 1964 which gave LBJ authority to respond to North Vietnam militarily, regardless of the true nature of that event. This attack on Syria on April 6th, 2017, which occurred exactly 100 years to the day of the American authorization to enter The Great War, breaks new ground. There is a reason why all the establishment candidates and political leaders, including the likes of Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Howard Dean all fail to alert the American people that Trump must be impeached immediately because he is a criminal by Article 1 Section 8 of the Consititution and if the Congress refuses to impeach, he must be immediately court-martialed under suspicion of being a domestic enemy to the Constitution with a case brought before the Supreme Court, if that fails it is then the duty of state governors to declare open rebellion and civil disobedience with formal secession offered in a referendum vote.
It is not the Syrian attack itself, historically unprecedented as it is, which endangers the lives of all Americans, so much as the precedent which is accepted and formally declared by the criminal Donald J. Trump on April 8, 2017, accepted without formal redress and consternation by the equally negligent and criminal Congress, that the U.S. military has the authority and right to attack and kill people of the world anywhere at anytime with any scale at the sole discretion of its Commander in Chief! While other countries and international bodies of assembly struggle to ascertain intent and meanings behind the rogue war power, distrust and fear have never been so pronounced. Liberty and Law have died with a whimper, as the real prospect of martial law and World War Three is looming upon us all.

AriusArmenian

The terrible consequence of this Trump turnaround is that we are back on the US trajectory since 911 of war and more war. The warmongering marching morons are in control. The US is marching humanity into catastrophe. The morons will deny until the worse is upon us. Since the end of the Cold War I have not felt as I now feel that we have no future.

Well then I guess we should all just dig our graves and kill ourselves.

dieter heymann

The tomahawk missiles have not destroyed the Syrian airfield but they have massacred all of Trump’s pet foreign affair projects. And please do not give me your tiresome “Deep State”. Trump has done this all by himself with his decision while he entertained Chinese President Xi at Mar a Lago.
The projected rapprochement with Russia is kaput. Putin has called Trump a war criminal and a liar. The only realistically available intermediary to get a new relationship started, Angela Merkel, may think twice before skating on that treacherous ice after her meeting with Trump.
The hope of destroying the EU by grinding it up between the US rock and the Russian hard place is dead. There will not be more exits and Prime Minister May is left high and dry. Putin will not interfere in the German elections. He needs Germany on his side.
Taming China? Forget it. President Xi minced no words after he returned to Beijing. The 100 days of consultations on monetary and economic matters will be an unproductive pow wow.
Syria and Iraq? There are now only bad choices. Raqqa has not been taken. Mosul has not been taken. The most tragic result is that even the slightest chance for a negotiated peace for the people of Syria is gone with the wind. The only rational and sane act is to get out. The sooner and faster the better.
Well Justin, let’s see if Trump has the guts to give his finger to the “Deep State”. He is the commander-in-chief of our armed forces. The “Deep State” is not. All he needs to do is to call all Armed Forces Chiefs to Mar-a-Lago and order them: “get us out of Libya”.
Believe me I do not enjoy what has happened.

richardstevenhack

Justin, the commenters on the site you linked to on the Putin video are saying that video is a year old and probably refers to the 2013 attacks, not the current one. Might want to check that and update.

Empty Rosenberg

This is truly a terrible article …. Raimondo meets what is known as the EH challenge, he writes about wars in the ME, in this case Trump’s mind-boggling switch from non-interventionist to mad bomber, without mentioning that the wars in the ME, and Trump’s 180, all serve the interests of Israel. If you can’t figure out Israel’s role in the ME wars, and Israel’s influence on Trump, you shouldn’t be writing.

Mork

Justin,

It’s painful to watch your contortions in attempting to defend Trump’s misadventures, as though he is a paragon of the anti-war cause and that dastardly Deep State has proven to be his undoing. You’ve spoken of “Trumpism” vs Trump himself, as if he espouses a grand reversal of America’s foreign policy. Justin, think back to everything you know about Donald Trump. Thirty years back and more. What about Donald Trump has EVER, and I mean EVER, signaled any kind of mature decision making? Trump is a huckster, plain and simple. Trump, like every other politician on the planet, lied and obfuscated to get elected, so that he could push through his own agenda. You can tell what a successful manager of his own people he is, by looking at your own front page here at Antiwar.com. On the same day, you’ll see, paraphrased, Tillerson Warns Russia: Assad Must Go, alongside, Trump: No US Troops Headed to Syria. Trump: N Korea Is a Problem We’ll Have To Solve, alongside Mattis: No Troops Headed to Korea. No one knows what they’re up to! You do say that all policy is domestic, though, which shows what he’s really all about: slashing benefits for the poor, slashing tax rates for the wealthy, usual GOP stuff going back to Saint Reagan.

Skywalker

So this afternoon Trump announced that NATO is no longer obsolete because they met his demands to fight terrorism. And Rambo-In-Chief also announced that he would not call China a currency manipulator.

I have to admit that Trump has the courage to stand up for his beliefs. Only his beliefs change from moment to moment.

So NATO and China are good. Always were good. And Syria and Russia are bad. Always were bad. It’s enough to make Bizarro’s head spin.

Mork

I want to NOT like this, for obvious reasons.

MvGuy

It’s easy to see that The Don, in spite of his proclamations, cares not for the little people whom he lauded, saying by electIng him they had regained their country. No, It is the rich, the famous, and Generals with lots of medals…. Further, I now believe after his bombings that he is an èmpty vessel and The Presidency is his newest possession and fun toy. I never believed him a man of peace or really prosperity. He is more and more beginning to look like a bad wanna be buccaneer… I hate to think that our onLy hope rests on the slim reed of him having an (honest) ephinany.

duglarri

I think you are on the right track, here; our failure to understand.

It’s in the words we use about recent events. Trump’s policy has changed, we say; Trump has flipped on absolutely crucial things he said he stood for, we say. What’s his new position?

The mistake is trying to identify a policy, position, or even principles. There is none, he doesn’t have one, there are none.

There’s no Trumpism; there is no Syria policy, no Russia policy, no China policy, no Korea policy. There is no there, there.

What we have to understand, and it’s hard, is that there’s no use trying to identify a pattern, because there is none, and never will be one.

Policy is whatever Trump says it is, and it’s based on whoever he talked to last.

That’s taking some getting used to.

leibniz09

And here is an analysis of how the Russians are fighting back, talking with America and attacking the British who are pushing this evil.

from LaRouchePac: April 12, lead article

U.S. and Russia To Establish a “Working Group;” British Are Furious; Plus, More Truth Comes Out Exposing Lies Against Syria

At the U.N. Security Council meeting today– called to vote on yet another
anti-Syria resolution by the UK, France and the USA–the truth rang out
that, the aim of Britain’s foreign policy is to destroy any chance of
the United States and Russia working together. This was said forcefully
by Russian Deputy envoy to the Security Council, Vladimir Safronkov,
directly to British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, who had just denounced
Russia for backing Bashar al Assad in Syria. Safronkov told Rycroft he
was acting to thwart the peace efforts of U.N. Special Envoy for Syria
Steffan De Mistura, and sow confrontation in the Security Council,
because, “you are afraid that we might work with the U.S. This is what
you lose sleep over.”

In effect, the Russian diplomat nailed the evil nature of the dying
British Empire, which is intervening to play off East vs. West, and each
against all, in attempt to stay on top of the heap, even to the point
of risking provoking nuclear war.

In Moscow, the very thing Britain fears so much, came about today,
even if in small measure. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, then with President Vladimir
Putin. At the joint press conference afterward by Tillerson and Lavrov,
it was announced that a “working group” would be established between the
two nations, to be made up of envoys that Russia and the United States
will designate. The mandate is to take up lesser matters, given so many
differences; but the consultative process will be underway.

Lavrov said that the two nations share a “special responsibility” for
the “strategic responsibility” for the world. Tillerson spoke of how
today’s meetings, “represent a continuation of our communications and
discussions and dialogue that began in Bonn” [at the G20 Summit in
February.]

It was explicitly stated by both officials that deep differences
remain on Syria. But Mr. Lavrov reported that it was discussed with
President Putin, to potentially restore the memorandum on deconfliction,
given certain conditions.

At the same time, experts internationally are coming forward to
expose the British-orchestrated lies about the Syrian government gassing
its people. This backs up the growing demand for a real investigation
of the charges against Syria, on which pretext the April 4 U.S. bombing
of the Shayrat airbase in Syria was done. Russia is filing for such an
investigation with The Hague. The British have already responded to
that, with Rycroft announcing today, they will “be at The Hague”
tomorrow, opposing an investigation.

Today a powerful study was issued, refuting the four-page White House
document released yesterday, which falsely asserted that Syria is
conclusively guilty of using chemical weapons on its people. Theodore
Postol, a technology expert, Professor Emeritus of M.I.T., wrote a
14-page “A Quick Turnaround Assessment” of the four-page White House
April 11 paper; Postol included satellite images and detailed analyses.
He states that, “I believe it can be shown, without doubt, that the
[White House] document does not provide any evidence whatsoever that the
U.S. government has concrete knowledge that the government of Syria was
the source of the chemical attack in Khan Shaykhun, Syria…on April 4,
2017.” Postol’s refutation is now getting international attention.

Finally, not only has a critical new connection been made between
Russia and the United States–despite all the British Empire filthy
tricks, but likewise there is the China-United States connection. It is
important that today, President Xi Jinping and Pres. Donald Trump spoke
by phone on the very dangerous situation regarding North Korea, and also
discussed Syria.

These are the key developments on the eve of the historic Schiller
Institute international conference in Manhattan–“One Belt, One Road:
The Promise of A New Economic Platform for the World.”

eric

I wonder If Erik and Ivanka Trump would be just heart broken as me If they knew their father the United States and the people they have been supporting used this gas . And they are just pretending their so stupid that don’t know about this . I actually think this is much more probable than Assad using the gas . But I doubt if the truth will be discovered for another twenty years .by than it won’t matter any more .

Wags

They really got to him. It didn’t take long. The “spooks” also have severed the relationship of a large swath of Trump supporters from Trump’s base. That will cripple him further. No doubt in the end they will impeach this man. First, they’re going to get him dirtied up real good.

Interesting how they have also used Ivanka as the spark that drove Trump’s decision to bomb Syria. It’s propaganda but once out there it sits and festers in humanity’s weak mind.

polistra24

The social pressure theory doesn’t work in this case.

1. Trump has spent the last year acting contrary to the social pressure from other rich folks and New Yorkers. He’s been taking it in stride.

2. He didn’t spend his life wanting to be President. He already achieved what he wanted, so the threat of taking away his power wouldn’t be effective blackmail.

3. Trump has one advantage that most politicians don’t. He already had his own private security force, so he didn’t need to worry about the Secret Service turning against him.

I don’t have an alternate hypothesis except maybe senility or Alzheimers.

The hard evidence thus far points to Assad being correct. This was a staged event. The source of the gas, end capped 122mm tubes with crush damage from explosives laid on top of them were not dropped from the air. These were set on the ground with a careful eye to timing. The weather was perfect for a nerve agent attack that morning. Not the morning before or after, it would not have worked at all. That precise timing didn’t occur by accident.